Once you completed tracing your artwork, it's time to turn it into paths so that…you can continue to clean it up an make changes to it in Illustrator.…If you don't turn it into paths, you run the risk of actually having to re-render…it every time you re-size it, or move it, or rotate it, or whatever you do to it.…An so in this movie, I'm going to show you how to take a tracing object like you have…here, an expand it to be regular paths. The easy way to do this is just to select…it, an then go to Expand, right here. When you click on Expand, it turns it into…paths almost instantly. And you can scale this up, or down, any…way you want. And it's just a regular vector object like…you would see in Illustrator normally. You can make changes to this by coming in,…double-clicking, selecting individual pieces, changing colors, rotating,…deleting, whatever you need to do. This is a great way to clean up your…traces after you've completed them. Because, like I said before, you're not…going to get all the way there with your trace.…

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Author

Updated

10/13/2014

Released

6/17/2013

You can accomplish a wide variety of design tasks with Adobe Illustrator. This course focuses on core concepts and techniques you can apply to workflows for print, the web, and many other destinations.

First, author Justin Seeley explains the basic elements that make up vector graphics—paths, strokes, and fills—and shows how to use each of the program's powerful drawing tools. Then he shows how to create documents and liven up a project with color, plus build complex shapes from simple paths and trace bitmap images and line art. The course also explores the benefits of using layers and symbols, and shows how to edit text, draw in perspective, and much more. The final chapter explains how to output your work in several formats and use Illustrator files in Photoshop and InDesign.

Topics include:

Understanding vector graphics

Creating documents for different contexts

Organizing artwork with rulers, guides, and grids

Making detailed selections

Resizing, rotating, and transforming objects

Creating swatches and color libraries

Working with fills and strokes

Using the Shape Builder and Image Trace features

Drawing and editing paths

Understanding the difference between point and area type

Adjusting the appearance of artwork with live effects

Printing, saving, and exporting artwork

Skill Level Beginner

8h 13m

Duration

3,017,822

Views

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Q: This course was updated on 6/18/2014. What
changed?

A: We revised chapters covering paths,
working with type, and the Pen tool. These updates reflect changes to the Pen
and Pencil tool behavior in the June 2014 update to Illustrator CC. These tools
now offer greater fidelity and previews. We also added one new video, "Packaging your artwork
for commercial print," which covers the enhanced packaging workflow.

Q: This course was updated on 10/13/2014. What changed?

A: We added tutorials to cover the most exciting changes to Illustrator
CC 2014: the Join and Curvature tools and the all-new Design Libraries. These
new movies are marked with the "(CC 2014.1)" tag.